Lost Time and Broken Hearts
by alice-in-vunderland
Summary: ON HIATUS. Sorry! But I just don't have the motivation to work on this. Check out my P/P fanfic! The story of Lily Evans--how did she become who she was? Most importantly, how did she get together with James Potter? Mostly LJ, but other elements too.
1. 1: Two Letters and a Brewing Storm

Chapter 1: Two Letters and a Brewing Storm

As Lily breezed into the room, she noted the piece of paper Petunia rapidly stuffed under her desk, flushing. Lily watched curiously as the pink pigment crept into her sister's cheeks. _What could she be hiding? Oh! Maybe it's a love note!_

"Tuney," Lily began, "What's that?" She raised an eyebrow. Petunia merely clutched the paper closer, her lips quivering with emotion. She carefully reached a hand up to tuck a stray, limp curl behind her ear.

Lily pouted, "Let me see it, please, Tuney?" She sat up slightly straighter and asked in a conspiratorial voice, "Is it a love note?"

Petunia's eyes bulged, and she shook her head rapidly, spreading her blonde curls around her head. "It most certainly is not," she denied vehemently, with as much dignity as she could muster.

"Then what is it?" Lily inquired, tipping her head to the side.

"Nothing," Petunia answered primly, taking a seat on her bed and crossing her slim legs, paper still in her hands.

"I bet it _is _a love note. Why can't I see it?" Lily whined. She received a blank stare from her sibling. At that point, Lily decided to take action. She jumped over to Petunia's bed and wrestled for the sheet of paper. Petunia held the paper to her chest as she used her elbows to beat Lily away, but Lily gained the upper hand. She pulled, afraid to rip the paper. The paper came free of Petunia's grasping hands with one final yank. Lily tipped backwards slightly, but she regained her balance quickly, and jumped to the safety of her own bed. She held the paper out in front of her, and she began to read.

_Dear Miss Petunia Evans,_

_I thank you very sincerely for your letter. I completely understand your wishes to attend Hogwarts. However, Hogwarts is strictly a school for those endowed with magical ability. Those bestowed with magic usually manifest their ability at quite young ages. Unfortunately, you have not seen these signs of involuntary magic, as your sister has. For these reasons, we will be unable to admit you to Hogwarts. _

_Please do not feel that your lack of magical abilities is a sign of inferiority. You come from a non-magical family, so it is quite likely that you would not have magical abilities. For these reasons, Hogwarts is not the right school for you. _

_Miss Evans, I wish you the greatest luck in the muggle world, and I hope you will lead a very happy life. Thank you very much for writing to me. I am truly sorry that you will not be able to attend. _

_Wishing the best to you and your family,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_Headmaster of Hogwarts_

Lily looked up carefully at Petunia. She sat stiffly, back straight, hands folded in her lap, legs crossed. Her head was tipped down to look at her hands. Lily noticed that she was still standing on the bed, so she sat down, embarrassed.

"Look, Tuney, I'm really sorry," Lily tried to console, "It's not my fault that I'm a witch, and it's not your fault that you're not a witch. It's okay."

When Petunia looked up, her eyes were full of hate and jealousy. Lily flinched at the dark emotions in Petunia's young, adolescent eyes. "I didn't want to go to your stupid school anyway. You're just a freak. I'm normal! I can live a happy life. I'll go to _normal_ school and marry a normal person, and raise a normal family. You'll have to be a weirdo, marry another freak, and you'll have freakish children! You can go practice your stupid little witchcraft! See what I care. Y—y—you're just a freak!" she stuttered finally, unable to come up with something more original to say. The emotion in her eyes brimmed over in tears, as she strode out the room.

"Tuney," Lily called softly. But her sister had already slammed the door shut. _I didn't know that Tuney felt left out. I wish that she could have gone to Hogwarts too. We could have gone together. Poor Tuney…_

Lily remembered that it had all started with the letter.

She had gone out like any other day to pick up the daily mail. She had sorted through the various letters, dropping advertisements into the recycle bin, placing letters from the bank carefully on the kitchen table. She had been about to throw the last one away when she noticed that it was addressed to her. She read it several times just to make sure. "Lily Evans. 97 Listern Ct." It was right enough. Her eyes flicked to the return address. "Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." There was no address. _Sev was right! I am a witch! I can't wait to tell mum and dad._ Unable to contain her excitement much longer, she sat down at the kitchen table and opened the letter.

_Dear Miss Lily Evans,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed, you will find a list of books and materials. _

_Lily, you are what we call a witch. You have been born into a muggle (non-magical) family, and have been luckily endowed with magical abilities. Most likely, your magic has already begun to show itself to you. If you have ever had any strange happen to you, it is quite likely to be magic. This is, of course, a large revelation, and we realize this. We have also enclosed a letter to your parents explaining your abilities. _

_In addition, we would like you to keep your witchcraft secret to all but your closest family because witches and wizards have been forced into hiding by the International Statute of Secrecy. _

_The school term begins on September 15__th__. Have a lovely summer._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_Headmaster of Hogwarts_

Lily had been reeling from happiness when her mother had walked into the kitchen. Lily had decided that it was time to tell her mother.

"Mum! Guess what! I'm a witch!" she exclaimed happily.

Her mother laughed, "Haha. That's very funny, Lily."

"No, I'm serious! There's this school for witches and wizards, who have been in hiding because of some international statue or something. And I have magical abilities! And I've been accepted to Hogwarts!"

Her mother turned, still smiling, to Lily. She did a double take at Lily's earnest face.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. My friend, Sev, told me. And now I got the letter from Hogwarts!" She opened the envelope to retrieve the other letter from Hogwarts. She passed it to her mother, who took it with shaking hands. Her eyes moved from side to side as she perused the contents of the note. She sat back and closed her eyes for a moment. When she had regained her composure, she opened her eyes and sat up.

"So this is really not a joke?" she asked weakly.

"Of course it's not, mum. I'm really a witch," Lily beamed.

Her mother smiled. "Well who would have thought? A witch!" She sat still for a moment, then she addressed Lily again, "Lily, I want you to know that I'm very proud of you, and I'm glad that you have been accepted to this school. I hope you have fun! This Sev that you told me about, is he a wizard?"

Lily nodded earnestly, "Yes. His mum's a witch, too. He said he would help me get all my books and stuff in Diagon Alley."

"That's lovely, dear. Excuse me; I think I should tell your father. He must want to know." Her mother stood, and exited the room. Lily just sat at the table, grinning to herself. Then she had a thought. _Sev might want to know. I bet he got his letter too!_ Lily stood up and left the house.

Lily had been strolling along the sidewalk to Spinner's End, when she met Severus.

"Sev! Did you get your letter too?"

He nodded. "How did your parents take the news?"

"Fine! I think my mum was a little shocked, but she got over it and she said she was proud of me! She's telling my dad right now. I don't suppose your mum was very surprised, was she?"

"No. She wasn't," said Severus quietly.

An awkward silence fell over the two children then. Lily finally broke the silence. "So we're going shopping for our books soon, right?"

"Yeah. I guess we are. My mum'll take us."

"That's great, Sev! I haven't met your mum yet. I probably should introduce my mum too."

Severus shuffled his feet. "It's okay if she doesn't come. Your mum doesn't have to go with us."

"It's okay, Sev. I'm sure she'd love to come. Oh! Tell me about Hogwarts again."

"But I've already told you about it millions of times."

"That's okay," Lily beamed, "I love hearing about it from you."

Severus flushed with pleasure and launched into another description of the prestigious school.


	2. 2: First Encounters

**A/N:** Yes! Another chapter! Way longer this time! Okay, enough with the exclamation points. Thanks to everyone who read the first to chapters, and thanks especially to em38 for being such a great friend and reviewing both chapters. –swoons from happiness- I hope you like this new chapter. Please review! I enjoy both compliments and criticisms, as long as they're constructive. Thanks! Oh yeah, just so you know, this is not going to be a complete chronological account of EVERY SINGLE THING THAT HAPPENS TO LILY DURING HOGWARTS. How boring. I'll skim through the first 6 years fairly quickly. (Although if you know me, this may take a little while). But I promise you, I'll get to the real stuff soon 

**Disclaimer**: Someday… I will own Harry Potter. But not today.

Chapter 2: First Encounters

Eileen Prince Snape had stood surly and silent. Her long black hair had hung in greasy strands in front of her pale, sallow face. She had been dressed in a long, black cloak that swept the ground. Her thin lips were turned down in a permanent grimace, and her dark eyes were expressionless. It was not difficult to see where the boy standing next to her had gotten his looks.

"Hello Mrs. Snape, my name is Jenna Evans," Lily's mother had introduced herself, holding out her hand, despite feeling intimidation.

Snape's mother nodded curtly, "Nice to meet you." She did not return Mrs. Evans's extended hand, so Lily's mother dropped her hand, slightly embarrassed. _Perhaps witches and wizards don't shake hands as a greeting._

Awkwardly, Mrs. Evans commented, "So, you're a witch." She instantly regretted it. _Of course, she's a witch, idiot!_

Mrs. Snape nodded again.

"Ah. I see. How was your Hogwarts experience?"

"Just fine," she answered coolly.

Just when the quiet was becoming unbearable, Mrs. Evans broke the silence.

"Well, Lily, should I come with you?" Mrs. Evans asked, slightly concerned about her child's chaperone.

"No, it's okay, mum. I'll be fine. When I get home, I'll tell you all about it," Lily reassured her mother.

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Evans asked again.

"Yeah, mum. See you later," Lily replied, giving her a hug.

"Well, I'll see you later then," Mrs. Evans said with a final wave at her daughter. She surreptitiously hid behind a tree and watched the group towards Diagon Alley. After a few minutes, Lily was still alive and well, so Mrs. Evans went home, still worrying a little.

Lily bounced along happily. "Where are we going first?"

"Let's go get our wands first, mum," Severus suggested.

Mrs. Snape merely nodded again.

"What classes will I take at Hogwarts," she asked, addressing her question to Mrs. Snape. It was Severus who answered.

"Well, there are classes like Potions, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, History of Magic, Runes, Arithmancy, Divination, and Care of Magical Creatures."

"There are a lot of classes!" Lily exclaimed, feeling a little overwhelmed.

"That's okay, I'm sure you'll be brilliant at them," Severus said, giving one of his rare smiles. Mrs. Snape was secretly shocked. It was true that life had treated her ill, and she had turned out to be such a bitter person, but in her own strange way, she loved her son. After all, what mother would not love her own blood? She wished that she could let her emotions out, but she was a quiet sort of person, preferring to keep everything she thought inside. She looked fondly at her son. _Perhaps this chattering, energetic girl will change Severus for the better. It's too bad that he's so like me. I rarely ever see him smile. Really, he' s quite charming when he smiles._ Her own mouth, although unaccustomed to the motion, bent slightly into a small, crooked smile. _I shall be happy if Severus is happy._ Her smile increased slightly seeing the girl chattering away. Long unused muscles were brought to action. In fact, she hadn't smiled in so long, that her muscles were atrophied. Her good-intentioned smile turned into somewhat of an expression of pain. But Eileen Prince Snape didn't know or care what she looked like. _Maybe I should let go, and stop preparing myself for disappointment all the time… Maybe it isn't so hard to smile. _

"Look, Lily, there it is," Severus pointed.

"Let's go!" she exclaimed, pulling his hand and running. Mrs. Snape almost grinned, although to the casual observer it looked like a grimace, and followed after the pair.

"Whoa! There are so many boxes!" exclaimed Lily in wonder.

"Well, what do we have here?" asked a young man, adjusting his glasses on his nose.

"Hello!" greeted Lily.

"Good morning, young lady. I am Ollivander. I presume you are here to purchase wands to embark on your exciting journey to Hogwarts?"

"Yes!" piped Lily.

"I see. And you, young man are here for the same reason." He clicked his tongue to himself and muttered while glancing at the various boxes. He eventually found a rolling ladder and rolled across the shelves, searching for the perfect wand for his two young customers. He eventually plucked two boxes from the shelves. He rolled back to the counter and handed the two boxes over to their prospective owners. Lily opened hers carefully and stared in awe at the wand inside.

"Twelve and a half inches, ash, unicorn hair," commented Ollivander, "and yours, young man, is thirteen inches, hawthorn, dragon-heart string."

Lily stared dubiously at her wand.

"Well, go on, test them out," Ollivander commanded.

Lily watched Severus give his an experimental flick.

"No! Not this one," Ollivander exclaimed, snatching the wand away.

Lily gave hers a flick, and one of the shelves collapsed, strewing boxes of wands all across the floor.

"I see that you've got quite a talent," Ollivander commented, raising an eyebrow.

Lily blushed, and handed the wand back. Ollivander quickly restored the shelf and all of the wands. They quickly went through more wands until they had finally found what they were looking for. For Lily, a ten and a half inch willow wand, dragon heart-string. For Severus, a twelve inch beechwood wand, unicorn hair. The rest of the day passed quickly for the shoppers, and it was punctuated by exclamations of wonder from Lily.

hr

Lily lay face down on her bed, thinking. _It would be so much easier if Tuney were a witch, too. She doesn't even want to talk to me now. She's angry all the time. I feel so bad, but it's not really my fault. Is it?_ She buried her face in the pillow and breathed through the fabric. A lone tear leaked from her eye and fell onto the pillow. The door opened, and Lily sat up.

"Tuney?" she asked hopefully.

"No, honey, it's me," her mother answered gently.

"Oh. It's you."

"What's with that tone?" her mother chided teasingly.

"Nothing."

"What's wrong?"

"It's Tuney."

Her mother was silent for a while. Then she spoke up, "It's not your fault, Lily. Petunia is just upset that she's been left out; she's just jealous. I'm sure that she'll get over it soon."

"You think so?"

"Of course, sweetie."

"Thanks, mum." Lily turned onto her side, and reached out for her mother's hand. Her mother squeezed it comfortingly.

"Anytime. How was Diagon Alley," her mother asked.

"It was great. Sev's mum took us, and there's this place and you tap on the bricks with your wand, and then there's this passageway, and then you're in Diagon Alley! I didn't know where to get a lot of stuff, but Sev knew just where to get everything. Getting wands was the best part! We went to this place, and there was this guy called Ollivander, and he had shelves and shelves of wands. I thought I just had to pick one out, but he told me that it's the wand that chooses the wizard. Isn't that interesting? Anyway, we went through a couple wands, and he told me to give them a flick to test them out. They were mostly all disasters, coz once I flicked them, papers started flying all over, but then I got this one, and when I held it, I just knew it was the right one because I felt all warm and happy inside, and it started to glow a bit. It was ten and a half inches, willow." Lily rummaged in her trunk and produced it, holding it out towards her mother to examine.

"How interesting," her mother commented, turning it in her hands carefully before handing it back. "So now you can do magic?"

"Not quite yet. I've read one of the basic books of charms, so I know a few now, but I'm not allowed to magic outside of school until I'm of age."

"So I don't have to worry about repair costs for the house until you're completely educated?"

Lily grinned, despite herself. "Yeah. Until I'm 17. Then I'm free to tear down the house if I want."

Her mother chuckled. "You leave tomorrow morning?"

"Yes. Platform nine and three quarters, 10:15 am."

"Three quarters?" her mother asked.

"Sev told me that it's right between platform nine and ten. There's this wall, and you just run through it. He said he'd go with me."

"This Sev, he's a nice boy, then?"

"Yes, mum. He's very nice. He's really quiet, though, like his mum."

Her mother nodded, reassured. "So he'll help you out at Hogwarts, right?"

Lily nodded. "Don't worry, I'll write to you by owl." She gestured at her brand new owl, which had buried her head under her tawny wing to rest.

"What's her name," asked her mother.

"Helena, after Ravenclaw's daughter. Ravenclaw was the most intelligent of the four founders of Hogwarts. Her house has the most intelligent of the students."

"Houses?"

"Students are sorted into four houses, depending on their personality. Gryffindor for the brave, Slytherin for the ambitious, Ravenclaw for the intelligent, and Hufflepuff for the loyal."

"Which one do you want to be in?"

"Definitely not Slytherin—a whole bunch of dark wizards were in Slytherin. I think I'll probably be in Ravenclaw, but I wouldn't mind being in Gryffindor either."

"I'm sure you'll get into whichever house you want to."

Lily beamed. "Thanks, mum."

Her mother smiled back. "How about having supper now, then?"

"Okay." Lily got up, stretched, and followed her mother downstairs.

All throughout supper, Petunia was silently moody. She made eye contact with her plate, and occasionally with her mother and father. Never with sister, her former best friend.

"So Petunia," Lily began.

"Mum, will you take me shopping tomorrow? I want to buy new school clothes," Petunia cut Lily off.

"No Petunia, I will not. First of all, you are being extremely rude. Second of all, Lily will be leaving tomorrow, and we will _all_ see her off. We will _all_ be supportive family members." Lily's mother stared pointedly at Petunia.

"Petunia, really. Cut it out," her father said, "you two have been friends your whole lives. This shouldn't change now."

"Yeah it should. She's a freak now!"

"Well you know what? I've been a _freak_ my whole entire life, but you never made a complaint. You're just being a sore loser coz you're not a witch like me. You're just jealous!" Lily shouted, unable to contain her hurt and anger.

"Well I don't want to eat dinner with a _freak_. So I'm going to go upstairs to sleep in the guest room, because I'm not going to sleep in the same room as you!" Petunia yelled back, storming upstairs and slamming the door.

Lily leaned her head on her hands. "I'm sorry," she whispered to her parents. "I didn't mean to lose my temper like that."

"It's okay, Lily," comforted her father, "I'm sure by Christmas break, she'll have gotten over it, and become more mature."

"It can't last forever, dear," her mother reassured.

Lily forced a smile, and the rest of the meal continued in silence.

hr

"Well, I'll go on first, and save a compartment for us," Severus informed Lily, tactfully giving her time to say her goodbyes. Lily nodded gratefully, flashing a smile in his direction. Severus turned around before she could see his own smile.

"Bye mum, bye dad," Lily said, kissing her parents goodbye. She turned to her sister, who stood sullenly, staring sourly at her shoes. Lily stepped in front of Petunia. The sisters were silent for a moment. Finally, Petunia lifted her head. "Goodbye Petunia. I'll miss you a lot. Please write me," Lily embraced her sister. Petunia did not resist the display of affection, nor did she respond. Lily looked sadly at her sister one last time, and boarded the train. She gave one last wave to her family, and blew kisses, which her mother returned. All but Petunia waved. Petunia merely looked on, expressionless.

The train began to move, and Lily waved even harder, trying to emblazon one last image of her family in her mind. The train had just passed out of sight and her parents had just turned around, when Petunia suddenly raised her hand to wave. "Sorry, Lily," she muttered.

"What was that?" her mother asked.

"Nothing."

Lily walked through the aisle, dragging her trunk along, looking through windows to find her friend, Severus. She spotted him, sitting alone in a compartment, and opened the door. Severus jumped at her entrance.

"Hello, Lily," he greeted her.

"Hey, Sev," she returned his greeting, while lifting up her trunk to place it on the shelf.

"No, allow me," insisted Severus, taking the trunk from Lily.

"Thanks, Sev," Lily grinned.

Severus flushed, and turned away to place the trunk on the shelf. He was struggling with it as the door the compartment slid open. He didn't turn to see who had entered, for fear that he might drop the trunk on his face. After a few arduous moments, he had finally managed to store the trunk. He turned around and sat down on his seat. He saw that two boys had entered the compartment. Both were handsome. One had dark hair. The other had messy brown hair and glasses askew on his nose. Lily was almost about to give them a friendly hello when one spoke.

"It's such a difficult task to lift up a trunk, eh?" sneered the one with brown hair.

The one with darker hair mimicked Severus, pretending to lift up something, but all but crumpling under the weight. "Oh! It's too heavy, James. Help me!" he exclaimed in a high voice.

Lily stood angrily, "Don't you dare make fun of Severus. He's my friend."

"Just your friend," inquired the one with darker hair, raising an eyebrow.

Severus blushed, and this did not go unnoticed by the boys. Lily, however, just glared angrily at them. She was about to make a comeback when the compartment door opened again. A friendly looking witch pushed in a trolley. "Food, anybody?" she inquired with a smile.

"OH! FOOD!" exclaimed the one named James. The boys nearly attacked the witch, in their hurry to get food. They amassed a large collection quickly and paid for it with several shiny coins.

Lily merely sniffed, and pulled out her lunch, packed by her mother. As usual, her mum had packed way more food than was necessary. She looked through the contents, and wondered how she'd ever finished it. She looked up at Severus, and noticed that he had made no move to bring food out. The two boys had noticed too.

"Oi! Look, Sirius, _Snivellus_ hasn't got any food," sneered James, "what, did your mummy forget to pack it today?" James and Sirius snickered.

"You shut up! And stop being so rude to _Severus._ Here, Sev, you can have some of my lunch. My mum gave me too much anyway. I'll be a few pounds heavier if I eat all this food." Severus cracked a smile, silently glad that she hadn't asked why he had no lunch. In truth, he was too embarrassed to bring out a squished sandwich that he himself had prepared.

Lily handed over various food to Severus. After she had apportioned out all of the lunch, she began to eat her sandwich delicately. She gazed disapprovingly at the two boys, James and Sirius, who were stuffing their faces.

"How disgusting," Lily declared, turning up her nose, "didn't your mum teach you any table manners?"

"My mum's dead," said James without emotion.

Lily's mouth dropped into a small "o" of surprise. "I'm so sorry. I didn't reali—"

"It's okay. It doesn't matter anyway," he said with a trace of bitterness, "she was just doing her duty when she got hit by a curse from a dirty Death Eater."

Severus flinched. Sirius patted James on the back, "A true Gryffindor, all the way."

"Thanks, mate," James smiled. "If I'm in Slytherin, I think I'll leave. Might as well. But we'll probably both be in Gryffindor," he commented to Sirius.

Sirius fell quiet, "My whole family's been in Slytherin."

James was quiet for a moment too, "That's okay. I've met your family. They're nothing like you." Sirius smiled back at his best friend.

"What's wrong with Slytherin?" Severus demanded.

"Well, _Snivellus_, Slytherin is where all the losers go," said James.

"That's not true. Slytherin is where all the smart people go. The people who are going places," retorted Severus.

"If that's the case, I bet you'll be put in Hufflepuff," sneered Sirius.

The color rose in Severus's cheeks. "I'm completely qualified! I bet you haven't even touched your textbooks yet!"

"Well, he's got _some_ potential," James commented to Sirius. They both cracked up.

"It's okay, Sev. They're just some losers. Just ignore them," said Lily.

"Yeah. You're right, Lily," said Severus.

"Lily?" asked James, incredulous. "As in Lilyflower?"

Lily glared at James, "No. As in Lily Evans."

James held up his hands in mock apology, "Oh I'm sooo sorry, Evans."

Lily continued to glare, but said nothing more. The rest of the train ride passed as if there was an invisible wall dividing Lily and Severus, and James and Sirius. Each pair carried on their own conversations, completely disregarding the other side. But every once in a while, James's eyes would flick over to Lily, drinking in the sight of her. Secretly, he thought that she was incredibly beautiful. Even more beautiful than his mother had been. _They're both redheads. _He smiled to himself. _Maybe there's something about redheads that attract the Potter men. _


	3. 3: Breaking In

Chapter 3: Breaking In

"Black, Sirius!" exclaimed Professor McGonagall. The boy from the train sprung up to sit on the chair, slipping on the Sorting Hat. Several frowns later (from both Sirius and the hat), the hat screamed, "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Brown, Lilac!" The blonde girl that walked confidently to the stool was also placed in Gryffindor. Lily zoned out as more names were called. She snapped to attention when she heard her name.

"Evans, Lily!" called Professor McGonagall.

Lily nervously stepped up to the Sorting Hat. She pulled the hat over her eyes and crossed her fingers surreptitiously. She didn't really know what house she wanted to be in. Sev wanted to be in Slytherin, and she wanted to be with Sev, but she didn't want to be in Slytherin. After all, she knew from her reading that all of the dark witches and wizards had come from Slytherin. She thought that it was not suited for her. Perhaps Ravenclaw. _We'll probably be able to have some classes together, even if we're in different houses, right?_ She was startled when a voice whispered close to her ear.

"Quite right. You're not Slytherin material. But I see you've a load of brains."

_THE SORTING HAT CAN TALK TO ME?! _

"Of course I can. And I can see every single thought you think." Lily felt the rip in the front of the hat curve into a knowing smirk.

_So are you going to put me in Ravenclaw?_

"You do have brains, but besides that, I see spirit. Gryffindor spirit. Bravery, and loyalty to your friends, and that's what counts. Later on, you'll do great things. I can see it in your future. How about it?"

I guess it's okay…

"So I guess it's GRYFFINDOR!" The Sorting Hat shouted out the last word to everyone. Lily supposed that she was happy to be in Gryffindor, but she saw that Severus wasn't. He was staring at her, looking slightly betrayed, slightly hurt.

"I'm sorry," she mouthed. And she was, but she didn't want to be in Slytherin…

She sat down at the Gryffindor table, where Sirius had sat too before. He grinned at her. "So Lilyflower's in Gryffindor with us, too!"

"Don't. Call. Me. Lilyflower," she said through her teeth.

"All right, Lilyblossom." She glared him, and kicked him under the table. Unfortunately, she missed, and the boy sitting next to him let out a howl of pain. Lily grimaced and pretended to be innocent. Sirius, on the other hand, looked curiously at the boy. As McGonagall continued to call out people from her list of names, Lily was left to her own thoughts. _I really hope Sev's in Gryffindor, too. It would be nice to have a friend in my house. I can already tell that Sirius is going to be such a pain. _

"Macdonald, Mary!" _She looks sensible enough. I hope she's in Gryffindor. Maybe she'll be my friend. _"GRYFFINDOR!" Lily zoned out again. _Yay! She's in Gryffindor. _She waited until Mary had taken a seat before nervously saying, "Hi."

"Hello. I'm Mary. Well, I guess you already knew that. Lily, right?"

Lily nodded.

"Hey Mary!" shouted a boy several years older, "I told you you'd be in Gryffindor. No need to worry about getting into Hufflepuff!"

Mary rolled her eyes. "That's my brother."

"Oh. So you're family's all magical?"

"Oh no, just my mum and brother. My dad's a muggle."

"I see. My family's all muggles."

"Congratulations! You're the first witch of the family." Mary smiled. Lily smiled back. They turned back to the front to watch the sorting. They had gotten all the way to "Pokeby, Gulliver" (Ravenclaw). Lily flinched as she heard the next name.

"Potter, James!" She forced herself not to grind her teeth in anger. _How dare he make fun of Sev. He's nothing but a stuck-up, arrogant boy. I hope he's not in Gryffindor. But I bet he will be, because his mother was in Gryffindor too…_ She let out a sigh as the Sorting Hat declared "GRYFFINDOR!" as soon as it touched Potter's head.

"What, Lilyblossom? Don't you like James?"

"No. Of course not," Lily snapped. She turned back around and ignored the backslapping that went on between the boys. She continued to scowl. Her frown faded as McGonagall reached the S's. She sat on the edge of her chair, hoping that somehow, Severus would be put in Gryffindor, too.

"Snape, Severus!" Lily squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that through sheer concentration, Severus could be placed in Gryffindor. She held her breath, listening for the pronouncement of the hat. "SLYTHERIN!" Lily's eyes opened, and found Severus's. He frowned at Lily, telling her with his eyes, "Sorry, but this is the way it has to be now."

"Looks like Snivellus is in Slytherin, after all," commented James.

"SHUT UP! AND DON'T CALL HIM SNIVELLUS!" Lily blew up.

"Calm down, Lilyblossom," said Sirius.

"DON'T CALL ME LILYBLOSSOM!"

"Be serious, guys," Mary intervened, trying to be diplomatic, but she was interrupted by laughter from James and Sirius.

"I…am…Sirius," choked out Sirius between laughs.

Mary shrugged and turned back to Lily. "Just ignore them, Lily."

Lily tried to take the advice, but she felt it difficult, for her eyes were drawn constantly to their magnetic personalities. The two boys were getting along fine with everyone else, and Lily could tell that they were charismatic, and would be very popular at Hogwarts. She sniffed to herself. _What do I care? It's not as if I want to be their friend. They're so insufferably rude._

"The sky looks fantastic!" exclaimed Sirius, looking up, "I wonder if it's transparent glass… But I'm pretty sure the sky didn't look like that when we got here."

"Of course it's enchanted, but it's not transparent. It says in _Hogwarts, A History_ that the ceiling is enchanted so that it always looks like a sky."

"_Hogwarts, A History_? No sane person would read that junk!" protested James.

"I did," Lily retorted icily.

"That's right. But Evans is not a person. She's a flower!" Sirius joked.

Lily decided to really take Mary's advice this time, so she said nothing to Sirius. She waited impatiently for the sorting to end. After Belle Zabini (Slytherin) and Matthew Zeller (Hufflepuff) were seated at their respective house tables, food suddenly appeared at the table.

Lily was only slightly surprised at this. She had guessed that food would just appear, but she hadn't even begun to imagine the sheer variety and quantity of it. Apparently, Sirius and James had the same idea, as they loaded up their plates and shoveled food down their mouths. Lily wrinkled her nose, and glanced at Mary. She was surprised to see that her own expression was mirrored on Mary's face. She laughed at their shared disgust, and Mary joined in.

"What's so funny," asked Sirius with his mouth full.

"Nothing. Now close your mouth and chew slowly so you can digest your food properly," said Mary.

"I don't have to close my mouth to chew. I can double task: eating and talking at the same time," Sirius retorted.

"But it's a disgusting habit," Mary shot back, "if you keep it up, you'll never get a girlfriend."

"Oh, we won't have any problems with that, will we, James?"

James looked up and said through a mouthful of pumpkin pasties, spraying crumbs all over, "Nope!"

"We'll see about that," Mary commented, slyly pulling out a camera from her pocket. She laid it on her lap where it was out of view from the other side of the table. She caught Lily's eye, and the two girls began grinning madly.

"What?" asked James.

"I don't get girls. They laugh for no apparent reason. It's almost like they're telepathic," Sirius grumbled.

"Oh, we are," Lily informed Sirius matter-of-factly.

"In fact, we can hear—" Mary began, subtly elbowing Lily.

"—every single thought you're thinking," Lily finished.

"OH MY GOD! THAT'S SO COOL! What am I thinking right now?"

"You're thinking that you would like some more pudding," guessed Mary, passing him a bowl.

"OH MY GOD, JAMES! SHE'S RIGHT!" Sirius shouted to James. He took the bowl of pudding as he and James both stared in wonder at the girls. Lily rolled her eyes, and recommenced eating. Once Sirius and James had turned back to stuffing their faces, Mary took out her camera and took a picture at their most gluttonous moment. She slipped it back into her pocket and winked at Lily. Lily smiled. _Perhaps being in Gryffindor isn't so bad…_ _I wonder how Sev's doing…_ She looked over at Severus, who was sitting between a tall boy with long blonde hair and another boy that had just been sorted. Lily tried to remember the boy's name. She struggled for a moment. Then she remembered. _Right! His name's Rosier. Evan Rosier. They look like they're getting along fine…I hope we have some classes together._

"Daydreaming about Snivellus?" asked James.

"Not at all," replied Lily smoothly.

"Just staring at him for no reason, then?" asked Sirius, "no reason, right?" He nudged James and they smirked at each other.

"You know what? I don't really care what you think. At all. Because you two are insufferably rude, incredibly arrogant, and disgusting to add on to that. I don't need to condescend so low as to care what you think."

"Ouch," remarked Mary.

"I feel so… injured. Lilyblossom's rejecting my friendly advice," Sirius cried, holding a hand to his chest histrionically.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!"

"Oh yeah, right. Sorry, Lilyflower."

"ARGH!"

"Like I said, you'll _never_ get a girlfriend."

"How much do you want to bet?"

"Five galleons."

"Deal." Sirius shook Mary's hand. Then he turned and scanned the table. He listened in on a conversation going on next to them. After a moment, he seemed to hear what he needed to hear.

"Oi! Molly!"

The redhead sitting near him turned around. "Will you go out with me?"

Molly blushed, "Ah, um, I'm sorry, but I'm going out with someone else right now. Sorry! Better luck with someone else!"

"No worries!" assured Sirius good-naturedly.

Meanwhile, Mary and Lily were collapsing in a fit of giggles. "You failed!"

"You just wait! I'll get someone someday!"

"Not when our little blackmail gets around the whole school…" commented Mary slyly.

"WHAT?! WHAT BLACKMAIL?!"

"It's a secret."

"TELL ME!"

"I told you. It's a secret. It wouldn't be—"

"—a secret if we told you."

"They're doing it again," exclaimed James, throwing his hands up in the air in mock exasperation.

"We have to find out what their secret is," said Sirius.

"Yeah, we'll find your secret, Evans and Macdonald. It's a deal." At those last words, he shook his hands with Sirius.

Lily and Mary exchanged an amused look.


	4. 4: Bad Impressions

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. The wonderful, amazing JKR does. Please send all fan mail regarding Harry Potter to _her_.

**A/N**:I actually wrote this section a while ago, and I finally got around to setting it up. Hope you like it. Please review!

Chapter 4: Bad Impressions

Lily chattered excitedly to Mary on the way to class. "I've been reading over the summer, and Potions just sounds _so _exciting! I can't wait. I hope we'll be making something interesting!"

Mary, on the other hand, wasn't so enthusiastic. "My whole family's bad at Potions, and I couldn't really make much sense of the textbook, to be honest."

Lily reassured her new friend, "That's okay. I'm sure you'll be fine!" Half an hour later, Mary's potion had given an enormous pop. Her shrinking potion had gone horribly wrong, and the classroom was covered in a viscous, green slime. Both Mary, and her partner, Alice, were covered in the goo. James and Sirius had also taken the brunt of the explosion. Lily and Severus, who were also sitting near the disastrous potion, had also been covered. But Severus was covered with more slime, as he had blocked most of the explosion.

"Professor!" Mary squeaked, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that. It's just…"

"Quite all right!" Slughorn boomed, "it happens all the time." He began siphoning off the slime good-naturedly.

"Oh! I'll help, Professor!" Lily shouted.

"Why thank you, Miss Evans. What a kind, considerate student. Five points for Gryffindor." James and Sirius smirked. Lily had already spent most of the class answering all of his questions correctly. At five points a question, she had earned seventy points for Gryffindor in one class.

Lily helped Severus clean up most of the slime on his robes. He thanked her with a smile. Slughorn hadn't gotten to cleaning up James and Sirius when the bell rang, and "Class is dismissed!" The pair scowled at their bad luck, but they spotted Lily.

"Oi! Lilyflower! Help us clean up," demanded Sirius.

"Why? Are you too stupid to do it yourselves?" Lily demanded back, her hands on her hips.

"Nah, you'll probably do a better job of it."

Lily sighed and helped them, to Severus's annoyance.

"Thanks, Evans," said James.

"You're welcome," answered Lily.

hr

It was lunch when they finally got around to discussing the incident.

"Double Potions with Slytherin was fun!" Lily announced.

"Only because you got to be partners with _Snivellus_," James retorted. Lily turned to stare at him. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Lily turned her attention back to Mary.

"Really, Mary, I thought you were exaggerating," Lily scolded, pretending to be disappointed.

"I'm sorry! I didn't think—"

Lily chuckled, "It's okay, seriously. I just wonder, how your potion managed to go so wrong. What did you do?"

"Um… I think it might have been the flobberworm tail that Alice added. Or it might have been that I didn't stir it in the right direction…"

Lily sighed, but fought back a grin. Then a thought hit her. "You didn't get any…blackmail material?"

Mary looked confused for a moment before her face lit up and she smiled. "Yeah! I did. Even better than yesterday's!" The two girls giggled.

"Honestly, I wonder if they ever shut up," complained James.

"I know a way to shut them up," said Sirius, raising his eyebrows suggestively. James blushed faintly, and Sirius's eyebrows shot up, until they almost touched his forehead. He tucked this bit of information away to torment James later with.

hr

James was sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room, trying to finish up his homework. Sirius crept up behind James, a wicked grin plastered on his face. He leant down until his mouth was right next to James's ear.

"So. Lily Evans, eh?"

James jumped, caught by surprise. "Ah—what? L—What about Lily Evans?"

"You know…"

James pretended to be confused, "What? I have no idea what you're talking about, mate."

Sirius arched an eyebrow and took a seat. "Really have _no _idea at all?" James nodded. "Does that mean yes, you do have an idea, or yes, you don't have any idea?"

"I don't have any idea at all," James declared.

"Are you kidding yourself, or are you really that dense?"

James looked affronted. "Sod off, Padfoot."

Sirius grinned, "Oh ho! Getting defensive over Lily, eh?"

"I am not getting defensive," James denied, "you're just annoying me because you're way off base."

"Not even going to admit it to yourself?"

"Admit _what_? I don't have _anything_ I need to admit," James bellowed.

Sirius smirked knowingly. James scowled.

"Tell me. What do you think of Lily Evans," Sirius inquired.

"Why the hell do you want to know?" James nearly yelled, "What is your obsession with Evans?"

"Just answer the question," Sirius demanded.

"Fine. Evans's a prat. She's such a know-it-all. Did you see her yesterday in Potions? Sucking up to Slughorn and all? Ghastly." James noted that Sirius fell silent, so he sat back in his chair and crossed his arms defiantly. But then he noticed that Sirius's attention was at his shoulder.

"Oi! What're you looking at?" James turned around, and to his horror, he saw a flash of red hair disappearing up to the girls' dormitory. He turned back, only to find Sirius clutching his sides in silent laughter.

"Oi! It's not funny!"

"HAHA—yes—ha—it is," he gasped between laughing. After he had calmed down a bit, and wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes, he admitted, "I would have told you sooner, but it was too funny. Did you see the look on your face?" He burst into laughter again. "You should have said that you were in love with her. Then she would have fallen at your feet in an instant. Good luck getting her now."

James scowled, "What do you mean, _getting her_?"

Sirius grinned, "You don't have to pretend. Did you see _you_ in Potions yesterday? And in Transfiguration…and Charms…and History of Magic…and breakfast…and dinner…and supper."

"Wait a moment. I don't _fancy her_. Is that what you're getting at? I don't need to 'get her' because I don't _want her_." James heard the portrait shut with a resounding snap. Sirius burst into helpless laughter again.

"You did it again, mate. If she didn't hate you before, I'm sure she hates you now."

"Look, I have to finish my homework now, so if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the library." James snatched his homework off the table and left Sirius in the common room, still laughing.

Lily sat nestled sideways in one of the library's cozier chairs. She had been reading the same page for ten whole minutes. She caught herself rereading the same sentence, and mentally berated herself. _Who cares what Potter thinks? If he can't tell what the difference between high-intelligence and being a suck-up, then his opinion doesn't matter to me anyway. He's just an arrogant brat who thinks he's king of the world. _Her repetitive line of thinking soon became a mantra that she kept repeating to herself. _Potter sucks. I hate Potter. His opinion is rubbish. _

Her Potter-bashing was interrupted when the door to the library opened. Through the corner of her eyes, she saw Potter entering, and her heart sank. She nestled lower in her chair, and held the book up to cover her face. She heard footsteps approaching, but when they came close to her, they stopped abruptly. Lily's muscles tensed, but she remained still. Several moments later, and Potter still hadn't moved. The corners of Lily's mouth turned down in a frown. The situation was becoming awkward, so Lily decided to address Potter.

"Yes? May I help you?" she asked icily, not lowering her book.

"Uh, um," James stuttered, "uh, look, I'm really sorry about before. I wasn't really thinking, and uh, I didn't really mean it. It's just, um, Sirius caught me off guard—"

"So that was the first thing that popped into your head? I understand, now. Please leave."

"Uh, no—"

"If that's all you have to say, then don't waste my time. I'm _studying_, so that I can be a know-it-all prat."

"That's not wh—"

"Goodbye, Potter."

Lily turned her attention to her book again, but still, Potter did not move. Lily glared at her book, still unable to take in anything she read. Several minutes elapsed, and still, Lily made no progress in her book, and James made no progress walking away. Finally, unable to stand it any more, Lily snapped her book shut. James straightened, looking hopeful, but Lily didn't say a word. She stood and walked briskly out.

"Wait!" James exclaimed, "I lied to Sirius." But the door had already closed behind her. "I really do fancy you," he whispered. Peeves watched in interest, intrigued by this last comment. As James sat down sadly in Lily's chair, and proceeded to finish his homework, as planned, Peeves swept down from his observation place.

"So ickle Potter fancies Lily Evans, eh?"

James was horrified that Peeves had heard his confession.

"Of course not!" he denied futilely.

Peeves smirked, and swooped away. Just as James sighed with relief, Peeves shouted through the library, "Ickle Potter fancies Lily Evans!" He cackled wickedly, and passed through the wall, and all eyes turned on James. He blushed, and tried to focus on his homework, but he felt curious eyes on him. He had completed two whole words when a brunette Slytherin, whose name escaped James, made her way to his seat. She sat across from him. James scowled.

"What do you want? I'm working!"

She crossed her legs and tilted her head coyly, "Is it true? Do you fancy Evans?"

"Of course it's not true," James snapped angrily, "why would you believe, Peeves, out of all people?" Realizing that Peeves was not really technically a person, he added, "And ghosts."

"So, then," she began, twirling a lock of her hair, "you wouldn't mind going out with me, would you?"

"Of course I would mind," he snarled.

"Why?" she pouted, "you said you don't like her."

"That doesn't mean I like _you_. First of all, you're not my type. Second of all, I don't even know your name."

She glared at him, "For your information, my name's Belle Zabini. Take care to remember it." She stood up, and stalked out of the library.

James sighed and stood up as well. He simply couldn't focus. Maybe he could "borrow" Remus's homework…

"Flesh-eating slugs," he told the Fat Lady, and the portrait swung open. As he stepped into the common room, he saw a flash of red hair disappearing up the stairs to the girls' dormitory. He sighed, wondering if he'd ever get a chance to apologize properly.

"Hey, Remus, can I borrow your Charms homework?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Borrow?"

"Yeah. Borrow. I just need to see it for a second to, um, see what I missed."

"Oh, ok. What did _you_ write?"

"Ummm…"

**A/N:** Bwahaha. Sirius makes me laugh. It's moving pretty fast, I guess. Story will probably slow down around 6th/7th year. OH! By the way, does anyone happen to know Alice Longbottom's maiden name? I don't think it's mentioned anywhere, but if you know it, would you drop me a line? Thanks. Happy fanficcing!


	5. 5: Fights, Bets,and Silly Antics

A/N: Hey! It's me again. Very very long time since I last wrote. But school has now ended. Hopefully, I'll write a little more. I have lots of stuff planned for later on. Just not stuff now. :P

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Five: Fights, Bets, and Silly Antics

A month had passed, and still, Lily and James had never reached an armistice. James would stare at Lily, until elbowed by Sirius. Then he would stand and walk over to try to apologize, but she would stand up, and move away. James would return to his seat and stare desolately at his schoolwork, and Lily would take furtive peeks at him with the corner of her eye. She had to admit, he wasn't so bad looking…

"Hey Lily, do you _like _James?"

Lily looked up at Mary, "Of course not."

"Really?" Mary raised an eyebrow skeptically. She stared at Lily with a penetrating gaze.

She sighed, giving in. "Fine. I think he's adorable. You know, the way he always, has really messy hair, but never bothers to fix it, and the way his glasses are always lopsided, and the way he always smiles when he's so sure of himself. It's just so… cute." Mary smirked. Lily shook her head rapidly, as if to clear her head. Her cheeks were tinged a light rose by her spontaneous confession, and she rapidly spoke again to amend her words. "But it doesn't matter anyway. Because he's a jerk."

James, who was walking towards Lily to try to apologize one more time, only heard the last part of Lily's words. He sighed and turned back towards the chair he had been sitting in before.

"Don't worry, mate, you'll get the ch—" Sirius began, but his words were interrupted by a scuffle next to them.

"Give me back my rat!" a scrawny little boy asked.

"No chance. It's mine now," a larger blonde boy taunted.

"What's its name?" asked one of his cronies.

"Rat! But he's mine. Can I have him back now, please?"

"Get yourself a new one, kid."

The little boy burst into tears, and Sirius leapt up from his seat, his sense of heroism aroused.

"Give him back his pet," he demanded. Although much shorter than the older boy, the eleven-year-old Sirius still held himself up with impressive stature, and made himself seem much stronger than he really was.

"And who are you?" another of blonde boy's cronies sneered.

"Ah, Crabbe, this is Black. The traitor to his own family."

"At least I'm not a spoiled brat he gets whatever he wants from his family, Malfoy," retorted Sirius.

"How _dare _you?" Lucius Malfoy hissed, his voice down to barely a whisper.

"I'll deal with him," said Goyle.

"No," Malfoy held his arm out, restraining his friend, "you'll be serving detention for insubordinacy and disrespect to prefects."

"How'd you become a prefect? Did Daddy pay money for his ickle boy to get a higher position? Either that, or you put a Confunding charm on Dumbledore."

"Ten points from Gryffindor, and you'll be serving detention all this week!"

Sirius, seriously angry by that point, launched himself towards Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle instantly leap into the fray. James, who up to this point had remained neutral, entered the action to defend his friend. At some point during the fight, Malfoy let go of the rat, and the scrawny little boy picked it up lovingly, cradling it in his arms.

At some point, James got the brilliant idea to _use magic_, as he was a wizard. When the idea finally dawned on him, he whipped out his wand and cast body-binding curses on all three of the Slytherins.

Sirius grinned, "Nice work, mate."

James grinned back, "Just doing my job."

"Thanks," said the scrawny little boy who had been ignored all throughout the fight.

"Oh. You're welcome. What's your name?" asked James.

"I'm Peter. Peter Pettigrew."

"James Potter."

"I'm seriously black."

Peter's eyes bugged out at that. "Do you use some sort of potion to make your skin white?"  
"Of cour—"

"Ah, no. He's just joking. His name is Sirius Black."

"Oh."

"Well, you want to hang with us, now?" Sirius asked.

"Sure!" Peter gave his new friends a gap-toothed grin.

"Did you see that?" Mary elbowed Lily.

"Hmm… what?"

"Come on," Mary rolled her eyes, "you can't have missed that."

"Oh."

"So… what do you think?"

"About what?"

"About James's heroism, or course. I thought you were supposed to be smart."

"I _am_ smart. I just don't think that was very heroic."

"Oh come on, a first year beating up three fifth years? He has potential."

Lily did not comment.

hr

"Hey, Remus, we have to find a way to get James and Evans together," Sirius whispered conspiratorially.

"What?" asked Peter, cluelessly.

Remus ignored both of them.

"Hey, Remus, aren't you going to help?"

Remus sighed. "Can't you deal with it on your own? Honestly, I wouldn't know about this kin—"

"What are you talking about?" asked James brightly as he walked in.

"Bets," declared Sirius confidently.

"Well I bet you're a coward."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I _double dog dare _you to get Molly to go out with you."

"What? I can't do that!"

"Scared?" James sneered.

"Deal. _You _have to get Evans to kiss you."

"Deal!" The two boys spit in their palms and shook their hands.

"Disgusting, really," commented Remus.

James and Sirius both turned to Remus with a disdainful look. "We have to seal our pact," they announced simultaneously."

"What about pinky swears?" asked Peter.

The other three boys sighed.

hr

"Hey, Molly, are you free today?" Sirius asked during lunch.

"Um, sorry, I have a essay due tomorrow in History of Magic, and I haven't started it."

"Bah, who cares about History? Why don't you go on a date with me?"

"I'm really sorry, but I just can't."

"Hey, kid, Molly's my girlfriend, so sod off." A tall redhead frowned at Sirius. Sirius stuck out his tongue immaturely, and bounced back to the table where James, Remus, and Peter were sitting.

"Let me guess, you failed."

"Hey, I just haven't had enough time. She'll fall _head over heels _for me, Jamesie."

"Sure."

"And how are _you_ going to get Lily to kiss you?" asked Remus.

"Well, I'm sure she just wouldn't be able to resist my good looks and charming wit."

They heard a snort, and turned around. Mary MacDonald was having difficulty controlling her laughter being a spoonful of pudding.

"You have something to say?" asked Sirius politely.

"Oh, no. Of course not. Continue with your conversation."

James glanced at Lily. She was entirely engrossed in her book, and she seemed not to notice anything going on. James looked curiously at the book. It was the potions textbook. He rolled his eyes. Remus noticed.

"There's nothing wrong with a desire to do well in school."

"Says you, Mr. Know-it-all."

Remus frowned. "You ought to put a little more effort into your own schoolwork. You have the potential to do well, but—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I don't put in an ounce of effort. Blahblahblah."

"That's right, whereas Sirius mostly likely has no hope of succeeding in school."

"Huh, what?" asked Sirius, perking up when he heard his name.

"Nothing. Go back to stuffing your face."

"Ok!" Sirius grinned.

_Hmm… How am I going to get Evans to kiss me? It could be a little difficult, considering she hasn't talked to me in over a month. I'm sure it's because she's so madly in love with me, she can hardly form coherent sentences in my present._ He stood up and sidled over next to Lily. She was so wrapped up in the book, she didn't even noticed.

"Enjoying the Potions textbook?"

She started. "What? Oh my god. It's you." She stood up to leave. James grabbed her wrist.

"Wait. I know that you're just ignoring me because you're really secretly in love with me, and you want to play hard to get. I understand. You know, I'll even let you kiss me, because I'm so nice. Go on, I won't beg."

In response, James got a slap across the face, and Lily stormed out of the Great Hall. "I know she likes me. I'll just wait until she realizes it."

Remus smiled.  
"What are you smiling about, Remus?" asked James.

"Nothing… nothing at all."

"Nuh-uh!" exclaimed Sirius, "you have that 'you're-so-stupid-that-I'm-so-amused-that I'm-going-to-smile-and-act-mysterious' look."

"What?"

"You think we're stupid," explained James.

"No, no. Of course not. I don't think you're stupid."

"Wow, Remus, you're such a great friend." Sirius gave his friend a pat on the back.

"Not stupid, just delusional."

The table was silent for a moment.

"Hey, that's an insult isn't it?" asked Peter.

"No, I'm pretty sure he's calling us hot," said James.

"Wow, Remus, I didn't know you were like _that_. You know, you can tell us anything. We'll still be friends with you, no matter what…unless you want to snog. That's going a bit to far," exclaimed Sirius.

Remus sighed. "I sometimes wonder why I'm friends with you idiots."

"I do that too," commented Mary.

"Have any idea how I can get Lily to kiss me?" asked James.

"Nope. Impossible. Your mission to win Molly over is impossible too, Black."

"It's very possible!" protested James and Sirius simultaneously. They turned to grin at each other.

"Yes. Very impossible," she muttered.

A/N: Introduced Peter, finally. Reminds me a little of the scene with Neville Longbottom and Trevor in HP1. (Malfoy pisses me off). Lily and James kinda have this Pride and Prejudice thing going on. Haha. I'm so sorry for the slow updates. I lack motivation. See the button below? CLICK! It will give me motivation. Support is the food of my writing. Also, do you think I should fast forward to sixth year pretty soon? Opinions anyone?


	6. 6: First Kisses

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter, as you should all know, belongs to JK Rowling, not me. Kudos to her for making our lives so much better.**

Chapter 6: First Kisses

Lily sat under the beech tree next to the lake with Severus. "Hey Sev, you don't have any siblings, right?"

"Nope. I'm an only child. It gets kind of lonely sometimes," he replied with a little sigh of sadness.

"At least you have me!" Lily grinned.

"Yeah," he smiled, "at least I have you."

"I need some help."

"For what?"

"I don't know what to write to Petunia," Severus's face stiffened. "I've written her several letters already, but she hasn't replied to any of them."

"Why do you still want to write to her? She was absolutely horrible to you."

"Yeah, but she's still my sister, and we used to be best friends. I can't stand the thought of losing her."

"Hm… I don't really know, honestly," not that he really made an effort to help her. Secretly, he thought that Lily should sever all contact with her muggle sister. _She'd be better off without her sister dragging her down. She just doesn't understand us. _Besides, he was still a little miffed by Petunia's insulting disapproval of him. So what if he lived at Spinner's end? So what if he washed his hair when he felt inclined to do so? She had no right to insult him, as he was obviously superior to her.

"Severus?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was spacing."

"That's okay. How long was Slughorn's essay supposed to be, again?"

"A foot. How much do you have so far?"

"I'm nearly there. I have ten inches. Are you done?"

"Yeah. I finished yesterday."

"Wow, Sev, you're really on top of things. So how's Slytherin?"

"It's fine. I wish you were in there with me, though."

"I know. It's sad that we're apart so much. Have you made friends?"

"Yeah, I guess. Evan is kind of my friend now."

"That's good," Lily smiled.

He smiled weakly, "Yeah. I guess." He was still smiling at Lily when (in his eyes), a stupid git came tramping by.

"Hey Evans, are you _sure_ you want to pass up on that kiss?"

"Of course, Potter. I wouldn't want to kiss a slimy git."

"I know. That's why you're not snogging Snivellus. But I asked about me."

Lily glared. But before she could make a reply, Severus spoke. "She doesn't like you. So get away from us. We're actually trying to work. You should try it sometime."

"I have a life. You should get one."

"That's rude!" Lily exclaimed, standing up.

"Well, it's true. He doesn't have to be such a kiss-ass all the time." Severus stood up at this.

"Better to be smart than blindly confident."

"Oh, are you talking about someone I know?" James sneered.

"Yeah. Are you too stupid to recognize yourself, even I if hold a mirror up in front of you?" Severus retorted, color rising his sallow cheeks.

"Look, Potter. You're not welcome here. Leave," Lily demanded, her hands on her hips.

"Well, ta-ta, darling. I'll wait for you to come begging to me later. Have fun with _Snivellus._"

Lily glared back, but did not reply as James sprinted away.

"The nerve of that git," Severus muttered.  
Lily sat down again to ponder her letter. She stared at the parchment she was writing on.

_Dear Petunia,_

_I miss you a lot._

It wasn't much, but she had no idea what to write. She desperately wanted Petunia to write back, so she had to convey that desire to contact her sister in the letter. She also wanted to tell Petunia how much she missed her, that Hogwarts just wasn't the same without her sister. She decided that she had to downplay how much fun Hogwarts was… If only she could combine all those things.

_Dear Petunia,_

_I miss you a lot. It's a lot of fun over here. I've made a lot of new friends. The classes are absolutely amazing._

_No… I can't make Hogwarts sound too fun. _She was in the process of crumpling up the parchment when an idea hit her. _I can use regular mail to send this!_ _It might be a little harder, but she might appreciate the effort!_ Thus inspired, she nearly knew what to write. She decided to just let the words flow off the pen onto the paper, and edit it later. She pulled out a new piece of parchment and began.

_Dear Petunia,_

_I miss you a lot. Hogwarts isn't really that fun without you. There are plenty of gits over here, and I wish you were here. I hope you are fine at home. Please send mum and dad my love. Our schedule is really busy, and we have a lot of homework, but I would definitely make time to read letters if you sent me any. Please write back, Tuney. I really miss you. _

_We've been sisters forever, so I hope that my going to Hogwarts doesn't ruin our close friendship. It doesn't matter if I make friends over her. You will always be my sister, and best friend. I don't want you to be mad, so I hope you can forgive me for leaving. Please, Tuney, it would really make me happy if you wrote back. _

_Much love from your little sister,_

_Lily XOXO._

Lily looked over the letter one more time. It was short, but it expressed her feelings fairly clearly. She hoped she had made Hogwarts sound a little less exciting than it really was.

"I'll be right back, Sev," Lily announced.

Severus looked up from his book, "It's getting close to dinner. I'll probably go back. I'll see you then."

"All right, Sev. Bye. See you!" She picked up her books and skipped towards to castle. He stayed where he was for a moment and looked after her. When she had disappeared out of sight, he closed his books and stood to leave.

Lily went straight to Professor McGonagall's office. She knocked timidly on the door.

"Come in."

Lily turned the doorknob and peeked in. The teacher was sitting at her desk, flipping through student essays with a frown on her face.

"Am I interrupting?"

She looked up, "Oh dear, no, not at all. Come in, dear. Have a seat."

Lily followed instructions and sat down in the plush chair facing the professor. She was slightly intimidated by this austere-looking woman with her black hair pulled back in a severe bun.

"Well?" she asked expectantly.

"Um… I have a letter to send to my sister, and she's a muggle, so she was upset when I left. I was wondering if there were any way to send this letter to her through the muggle mail system."

"Oh, of course. Do you have the address written on that envelope?"

"Yes."

"Good, give it to me. I shall ensure it is mailed, and I will make sure her reply gets to you."

Lily smiled gratefully, "Thanks so much, Professor."

"Not at all," she smiled back. "Enjoy the rest of your day."

"Thanks. I will. Bye!" Lily retreated from the room with a bounce in her step. She hoped that her sister would write back. How delicate friendships and relationships seemed to young Lily at that point. She had already become quite cynical of the world around her. If the best and closest of sisters and friends could drift apart in a single moment, no relationship was eternal. You could enter into a relationship, but it wouldn't last. It was best not to invest herself to deeply into sort of relationship. And from such and early age, Lily had already almost lost faith in human sincerity. Even though she eventually regained some trust, she was always wary of protecting her heart, shielding herself from the hurt of a broken relationship.

hr

Remus Lupin cut an unassuming figure in the corner of the Gryffindor common room. He was quiet and reserved, nearly invisible in the daily evening bustle of the common room. If you didn't know him well, you might've thought that he was snubbing the rest of his house, when in fact he wanted some peace and quiet outside of the library. He was trying to avoid Belle Zabini. She kept following him threateningly. When he switched seats, she would wait for a moment, then follow him over. At some point, she worked up the nerve to speak to him. Remus nearly jumped out of his seat at the sound of her voice. She would ask probing questions about James, and he was hesitant to lie, or to refuse to answer.

He sighed; he was unable to get solace anywhere. He lowered the book from his face to find James and Sirius staring intently at him, wearing identical expressions.  
"BLARGH!" he exclaimed as he dropped his book and nearly lost balance on his chair.

"Ah. Remus has descended from La-la Land to join us in the real world," Sirius observed.

"Humble thanks for honoring us with your presence," said James, bowing slightly.

"What do you want?" asked Remus warily. Just last week, they had asked him to perform a tricky spell that would have… well, he didn't like to think of it. Suffice it to say that Argus Filch had spent several hours with a smoking buttock.

"We need you to change our dares," explained Sirius and James simultaneously.

"What? Why me?"

"We need a witness or something," explained James.

"It'll make everything _official_," added Sirius.

"Why do you want to change?"

"Well, our dares are impossible!" exclaimed Sirius and James simultaneously.

Remus smiled. "Giving up so soon?"

"Well, dear Molly is a little _too_ attached to Arthur for her own good. She's too blind to see what she's missing."

Remus snorted, but covered it up with a discreet cough. "I see…"

"And I fear for my life if I ask her one more time to kiss me."

"Then," Remus said, straightening up slightly and puffing up his chest, "I shall assign new dares." Sirius and James sat with rapt attention. "You, Sirius Black, shall get Mary MacDonald to go out with you. You, James Potter, shall kiss Lily."

"Whattttt?" both protested.

Remus flounced away, books in tow, grinning all the way. He was a crafty one for bringing people together, albeit only for others. He knew he had no hope for himself… what with… his "problems." He couldn't get too close to anyone, for fear of divulging his secret.

hr

Lily sat in the Gryffindor common room, grinning. Petunia had written back! She had written back! Sure, it had been a very terse and awkward letter, but at least it was _something_.

_Dear Lily,_

_Truth is, I miss you a lot, too. I'm so sorry that I acted so badly. I was just disappointed that you would be leaving me, and I couldn't follow. I hope you have having a terrific time at Hogwarts. _

_I also do not want to lose my only sister in such a silly fight. Write back soon!_

_Love,_

_Petunia _

She leaned her head against the back of the armchair, closing her eyes and basking in her happiness. Out of the blue, she felt something touch her lips. She opened her eyes to find James Potter less than an inch away from her face.

A/N: Please review! It gives incentive for me to write. You can tell me what you want to happen, if you want me to write faster, how the story's going etc etc. Click the button! It'll only take you 30 seconds, but it'll brighten my day. Thanks! Happy fanficcing!


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